Trio Los Vigilantes

Friday, February 8th, it hailed little white pebbles of ice around the office. The same way people say the only constant in life is change, Texans know that irregular weather conditions are the norm around here. Tan lines at Christmas? Possible. Polar vortexes en Febrero? Probable. Inside the cafe, however, we welcomed the talented Trio Los Vigilantes to join us for our fifth Café Con Siete. In doing so, we escaped the cold and warmed up our corazones with a little música de México.

The trios’songs are a mix of genres like the melodramatic Spanish Bolero, American jazz and pop. As a group, Isaac Peña, Luis Angel Ibañez andJohn Pointer recollect the sounds of the 1950’s—La Epoca de Oro, The Golden Age. “We’ve been [playing music together] for over twenty years...We are doing our best to maintain this three voice harmony, tragic love song thing that we do,” Isaac said.

As a familia, we appreciate that the trio’s craft is deeply rooted in Mexican tradition; moreover, how they have added unique, modern elements to make it their own. John clarifies, “Often times we perform with a string quartet or a small string orchestra… And I don’t think there’s anybody else doing that, at all, in the world.”

For their first three songs, they shared a wedding march, a song they performed at the 2012 Havana Music Festival, and a love song. The final song was dedicated to Isaac’s father, su inspiración. It was a tender moment; family is everything.

In the same way our familia loves to our share stories with others through food, Trio Los Vigilantes delights their friends, family, and fans with their música. Muchas gracias to Isaac, Luis, and John for a performance that brought us together to celebrate the culture that brings us so much happiness, artistry, and fulfillment.